Drainage ported padlock



Jan. 6, 1959 D. J. FOOTE ET AL DRAINAGE PORTED PADLOCK Filed July 12, 1957 08 '1 NTOli A Y'TORNEMS.

United States Patent DRAINAGE PORTED PADLOCK Daniel J. Foote, Wauwatosa, and Milton Soref, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to Master Lock Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application July 12, 1957, Serial No. 671,644

2 Claims. (Cl. 70-38) to receive the extended leg and short leg of the shackle.

The extended leg of the shackle, while spring-urged, is always permanently held or anchored within the padlock body in a manner to permit outward reciprocating movement and swivel action of the shackle when the lock is open. The internal locking lever or levers, regardless of shape, generally have an outer end portion which engages one or more cutouts or shouldered recesses in the short leg of the shackle and in some cases in the extended shackle leg also, which arrangement permits engagement between the locking lever or levers and shackle legs to securely hold the shackle in its locked condition. It is necessary to have these shackle leg openings of slightly greater diameter than the diameter of the shackle legs to facilitate shackle alignment and to permit easy movement of the shackle and to compensate for slight variations in the size and shape of the shackle legs. The action of the moving parts within the padlock body is intended to accomplish the release of the locking lever or levers resulting in the freeing of the shackle to move outwardly to an unlocked position. The release may be accomplished by turning an inserted key and this imparts yielding retractive movement to the locking lever to disengage it from the shackle.

In the type of padlocks described, any water, ice, rust, dust, sand, dirt, or any foreign matter which might accumulate in the two shackle openings of the body will cause interference with or impair the smooth and easy operation of the levers, springs, and other internal working parts. In most padlocks, and in laminated padlocks, the shackle openings form dead end or blind holes at the bottom or inner end of the case or body. These dead end or blind shackle holes allow for the accumulation of particles of dirt or sand, water, moisture from condensation, and foreign materials within the body of the padlock or at the base of each shackle opening. Since, in the conventional padlock, there is no avenue or means of escape, such undesired foreign material remains within the padlock body and results in rust or corrosion which will eat away the metal or springs, and several other internal parts with detrimental effects with respect to the operation and life of the padlock.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a drainage ported padlock wherein a body plate adjacent the inner end of the padlock is formed with drainage ports or channels providing communication between the shackle leg body openings and the shell and plug assembly cavity for draining off water, ice, rust, dirt, sand, or other foreign material 2,867,110 Ce Patented Jan. 6, 1959 from the inside of the lock through the key-way slot, thereby insuring smooth operation of the lock mechanism and long life of the lock assemblage.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drainage ported padlock which is of very simple construction and does not complicate the assembly of the padlock, which increases the utility and performance of the padlock without adding to the expense thereof, and which is well adapted for the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved drainage ported padlock, and its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a laminated padlock showing the novel drainage ports or ducts provided in the padlock body by an inner plate in the lock body adjacent the base of the shackle openings;

Fig. 2 is an end view of a laminated padlock embodying the invention, part being broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 3 is an inner end view of a padlock, showing the key-way and end of the shell and plug assembly;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of an inner body plate formed with openings and drainage ports taken on line 44 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the drainage plate taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Although the invention is not to be restricted thereto, for purposes of illustration, the padlock body or case 6 is of laminated construction and is built up of a plurality of superimposed secured-together main plates 7, inner and outer end face plates 17 and 18 respectively, and a modified plate 16 which will be described more in detail hereinafter, and which is superimposed between the outer or bottom face plate 18 and an adjacent main plate 7. The body of the padlock formed of the secured together plates is provided internally with cavities for certain of the lock mechanism. Said cavities include an internal cavity 19 for a spring-urged locking lever 20 which, in locking position, releasably engages the notched inner end portion of the short leg or toe 11 of a shackle 12,

and also includes a cylindrical cavity 21 with a lateral extension to house a lock cylinder shell and plug assembly 22. The latter has a side extension 23 which houses certain lock pins (not shown), although the padlock,

within the scope of the present invention, could be of a type other than the pin type of padlock.

The bottom or outer face plate 18 of the padlock body has a centralcircular opening 15 therein which accommodates the cylindrical outer end of the cylinder plug 24 which has an exteriorly accessible key receiving slot 25 therein.

The superimposed secured together plates 17 and 7 of the padlock body have registering circular openings therein, on opposite sides, to provide shackle leg receiving openings 8 and 9 respectively, which open through the top or outer plate of the padlock body and which longitudinally removably receive respectively the long leg 10 and the short leg 11 of the padlock shackle 12. The long leg of the shackle 12 may also swivel within its opening when the short leg is released by the locking lever 20 and removed from its body opening 9. The inner end of the long leg 10 is urged outwardly by a confined coiled spring 26 on which it is seated.

In the present embodiment the body plate 16 adjacent the face plate 18 is modified to provide drainage ports or channels. This plate 16 is shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5 and its midportion is provided with an enlarged aperture 27 which in the assembled position of the plate 16 forms a continuation of the cavity 19 and registers with and accommodates the inner end of the cylinder shell and plug assembly 22. That pgrtion of the plate 16 which underlies the inner end of the long leg of the shackle 12,;is provided with an open portion 28 which forms an inner continuationof the shackle leg bodyopening 8, ex: cept that it is laterally extended to be in direct communication with thecentralopening 27 in the-plate 16.= Onthe otherside of the central opening 27 in the platet16 there is a slot 29 which forms an inner continuation of thebody opening 9, and which also accommodates the cylinder shell extension 23, said slot 29 also being laterally extended so as to communicate with the central opening 27 in the plate 16.

Inthe manufacture of apadlock body or casing of the typeunder consideration, the shackle leg receiving openings 8 and 9 are preferably of uniform size and shape and are of slightly greater diameter than that of the shackle legs to permit easy movement of the shackle therein and to compensate for slight variations and inaccuracies in the size and shape of the shackle legs. The slightly enlarged shackle receiving openings, however, allow the entrance of dirt, water or other foreign material through openings in the top or outer face plate 17 from whence said material can work into the padlock body where it can cause considerable trouble, inconvenience, padlock mechanism deterioration and operational difficulties, as previously pointed out. To remedy this situation the ducts or conduits between the openings 28 and 29 and 27 in thetbody plate 16 provide ducts or channels between the shackle receiving openings in the padlock body and the cavity 21 and plate opening for the plug and shell assembly. Ordinarily the inner ends of the shackle openings are dead end" or blind holes which allow for the accumulation of water, moisture or foreign material with no avenue of escape but, due to the construction afforded by the present invention, when material collects in said body openings 8 and 9, it is free to follow the paths indicated by arrows in Fig. l and escape from the inner ends of the body openings 8 and 9 through the ducts or connections between the openings 28, 29 and 27 in the plate 16 and thus escape or drain out of the padlock body through the opening 15 around the cylinder and plug assembly or through the key slot 25. In practice, the manipulation of the padlock shackle in the opening and closing of the padlock will impart a pump or piston action to the shackle legs Within the body openings 8 and 9 to aid in the forceful expulsion of foreign material through the route described. When the padlock is used in a vertical position, gravity will cause natural drainage of water and entrained foreign material through the ported arrangement indicated. The expulsion of foreign material from the interior of tie padlock body is, of course, effective in preventing rust, corrosion and deterioration of the working parts of the padlock and eliminates the collection of foreign material internally of the padlock such as might impair or handicap the effective operation of the working parts.

The improved drainage ported padlock is of very simple and inexpensive construction, does not complicate the manufacture or assembly of the padlock, and is well adapted for the purposes described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A padlock, comprising a laminated body formed of a plurality of superimposed secured-together main plates, said laminated body having therein a central cavity, a bottom end plate closing the bottom end of the body and having a central opening therethrough communicating directly with said body central cavity, a cylinder and plug assembly housed within said body cavity and projecting at one end into said bottom end plate opening, there being drainage clearance between the periphery of said bottom end plate opening and the projectingportion of the cylinder and plug assembly, the end portion of the cylinder and plug assembly receivedby said bottonrend plate opening having a slotted keyway therein commua exual 4 nicating with said bottom end plate opening, the end portions of'all of the main plates on one side of the central cavity being formed with aligned openings to provide a long shackle leg socket and the end portions of a group of adjacent main plates toward the outer end of the body being formed with aligned openings to provide a short shackle leg socket, the corresponding end portions of the remainder-of the; main plates below the short shackle leg socket being formed with aligned openings therein registeringlwiththe short shackle leg socket to provide a short shackle legsocket drainage conduit, and. a: body plate, rigid throughout, positioned between the lowermost main plate and thebottom end plate and havingtherein a central opening which surrounds the cylinder and plug assembly and which additionally has therein openings laterally of its central opening which form continuations of the long shackle leg socket and the short shackle leg socket drainage conduit, there being oppositely directed openings in said body plate between opposite margins of its central opening and its openings laterally thereof to register respectively with the long shackle leg socket and the short shackle leg socket drainage conduit to provide for drainage and expulsion of foreign matter from the padlock body via the shackle leg sockets, the body plate openings, the body central cavity and the bottom end plate opening.

2. A padlock, comprising a laminated body formed of a plurality of superimposed secured-together main plates, said laminated body having therein a central cavity, a bottom end plate closing the bottom end of the body and having an opening therethrongh communicating directly with said body central cavity, a cylinder and plug assembly housed within said body cavity and projecting at one end into said bottom end plate opening, there being drainage clearance between the periphery of said bottom end plate opening and the projecting portion of the cylinder and plug assembly, the end portion of the cylinder and plug assembly received by said bottom end plate opening having a slotted keyway therein communicating with said bottom end plate opening, the end portions of all of the main plates on one side of the central cavity being formed with aligned openings to provide a long shackle leg socket and the end portions of a group of adjacent main plates toward the outer end of the body being formed with aligned openings to provide a short shackle leg socket, the corresponding end portions of the remainder of the main plates below the short shackle leg socket being formed with aligned openings therein registering with the short shackle leg socket to provide a short shackle leg socket drainage conduit, and a body plate, rigid throughout, positioned between the lowermost main plate and the bottom end plate and having therein a central opening which surrounds the cylinder and plug assembly and which additionally has therein openings laterally of its central opening which form continuations of the long shackle leg socket and the short shackle leg socket drainage conduit, there being oppositely directed openings in said body plate in its plane connecting opposite margins of its central opening with its openings laterally thereof to provide continuous internal drainage passageways from both of the shackle leg sockets into the body cavity and from thence out of the padlock body through the body cavity, the slotted keyway in the cylinder and plug assembly, and the body end plate opening for the expulsion from the body of foreign matter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,425,221 Skublin Aug. 8, 1922 2,330,765 Voight Sept. 28, 1943 2,409,424 Falk Oct. 15, 1946 2,662,385 Zavoico Dec. 15, 1953 2,673,458 Schlage Mar. 30, 1954 2,726,531 Vile Dec. 13, 1955 

